Malta sets gaming tax at 15% and 10% by game type and clarifies VAT

A single gaming-tax structure classified by game type took effect on 1 October 2026 for operators serving Malta-based players: 15% on Type 1 games and 10% on Types 2 to 4 in place of the flat 5%, with a recast VAT exemption.

What happened

Legal Notices 84 and 86 of 2026, published on 1 April 2026 and explained by the MGA and the Malta Tax and Customs Administration the next day, reformed how gaming is taxed in Malta from 1 October 2026. The existing gaming tax and the gaming-device levy were merged into a single gaming-tax structure classified by game type and mode of offer. Gaming revenue from players in Malta is now taxed at 15% for Type 1 services (casino-type and other random-generator games played against the house) and at 10% for Types 2, 3 and 4 (fixed-odds betting, commission-based player-versus-player games and controlled skill games), whether the service is offered in gaming premises or at a distance; a 5% rate applies to controlled gaming premises and junkets, and B2B suppliers that film or broadcast a gaming service from a studio pay a fixed levy of EUR 3,000 a year. For services offered solely at a distance, liability depends on whether the player is established, has a permanent address or usually resides in Malta. On the VAT side, L.N. 86 recast the exemption item for gambling as betting, lotteries and other forms of gambling ‘as may be approved by the Minister’; the authorities say the revised VAT framework, with guidelines from the tax administration, clarifies the treatment of sports betting and certain casino offerings and the place-of-supply rules, and allows eligible input VAT to be recovered. The gaming-tax change applies only to gaming services provided within Malta’s own territory: revenue from players in other markets stays outside the gaming tax.

What it means

Malta is both a major licensing hub and a domestic market, and the gaming-tax change is aimed at the domestic side. For remote operators the gaming-tax rate on revenue from Malta-based players moves from the previous flat 5% to 15% on Type 1 games and 10% on Types 2 to 4, while land-based operators move from the 5% tax plus a separate gaming-device levy to the single structure. On VAT, the authorities say that delimiting the exemption brings a right to recover eligible input VAT. For the large population of Malta-licensed operators serving other countries, revenue from players outside Malta remains outside the gaming tax.

Who it affects

Operators serving Malta-based players and their finance teams; land-based gaming operators in Malta; and analysts comparing Malta’s domestic tax treatment with other hubs.

Sources

Primary sources last checked 4 October 2026.